


21 December

by TheBee



Series: The Bee's 2014 Advent Calendar [21]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Multi-Era, References to Character Death, references to other Doctors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2014-12-22
Packaged: 2018-03-02 19:17:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2823104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBee/pseuds/TheBee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"They thought she was like Compassion?" Susan asked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	21 December

**Author's Note:**

> POV: Susan Roman Tyler-Noble  
> WARNING: The Doctor's never polite to himself, when he bumps into himself. And when he's stuck around himself, he resorts to rude names. I'd apologize for the Doctor-on-Doctor bashing, but it's in character.  
> Unbeta'd

Dad-Doctor was yelling something at Latest Doctor. The TARDIS wasn’t translating it—and Dad’s lessons didn’t include it—so it was probably Gallifreyan obscenities. He’d managed to slip up a few times when teaching her, and she knew some scatological terms that proper Gallifreyan ladies probably shouldn’t know, but either the Doctors were using a dialect she hadn’t learned or… this was the good stuff.

The Time Lords went after Mum. And Dad got hurt protecting her. She tugged on the Latest Doctor’s sleeve again.

“It’s Bad Wolf, isn’t it.” It wasn’t a question.

Both Dad-Doctor and Latest Doctor stopped cold. Next Doctor rubbed her hand between his own.

The silence stretched.

Finally, it was Next Doctor who explained.

“When your mother showed up at the Gamestation after looking in the heart of the TARDIS, the Daleks called her an Abomination.” Susan nodded. She’d heard that story. “Our people—the Time Lords—would have viewed her the same way.” Susan’s jaw dropped. “They’re very… staid. Time Lords. The whole planet’s that way. Very boring. Don’t like change at all. And a human absorbing the Vortex and controlling time?” He sighed. “Ooohhhhh, no, they wouldn’t have liked that at all.”

Latest Doctor interrupted. “It left a trace in her, in her mind, in the very cells of her body. Your mother’s not quite human. Put a TARDIS near her and a Gallifreyan-human hybrid in that TARDIS and”—he smacked one fist into the palm of his other hand — “Gallifrey gets curious.”

Dad-Doctor hissed in a breath. “They were looking for me—us—weren’t they?”

“Him”—Latest Doctor points at Next Doctor—“actually. And they found him, eventually.”

The realization dawned on Susan with the fury of a star going nova.

“That’s how you’re even possible,” she breathed. The frown on Latest Doctor’s face couldn’t quite hide the guilt. “They were looking for you and they found my mum and they went after her.”

“Because she’s marked with the energy from the heart of a TARDIS,” he replied, softly. “My TARDIS. The energy signature is unique.” His voice dropped even more. “Find the Doctor’s TARDIS, find the Doctor. Draw the artron energy and Huon particles from the TARDIS and use it to pull themselves out of the pocket universe. They probably didn’t realize what your mother was.”

She remembered Dad’s story about the TARDIS that used to be a woman. “They thought she was like Compassion?”

All three Doctors gawped at her.

**Author's Note:**

> For more information on Compassion, the TARDIS who used to be a woman, start with the "Hour of the Geek" book series (featuring Eight and Three--and Sarah Jane Smith). Compassion first shows up in Book 2: Interference.


End file.
